Border Patrol Foils Smugglers Near Texas RV Park

U.S. authorities are investigating a shooting between U.S. Border Patrol agents and an unidentified man who fired at them from the Mexican side of the border near Chimney Park on Tuesday night (May 10) near Mission, Texas.

The shooting happened near the winter Texan RV park about 11:50 p.m. after border patrol agents from the McAllen station saw a group of people trying to smuggle marijuana into the country on two rafts, Rosalinda Huey, the federal agency’s spokeswoman, told The Mission Monitor.

“No agents were injured during the shooting and it is unknown if anyone on the Mexican side was struck,” she said.

As agents tried to stop the alleged smugglers, they heard several shots fired in the immediate area, Huey said. Agents then saw a man on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande pointing a handgun in the agents’ direction, which prompted them to respond by retuning fire, she added.

“Agents are unsure if the subject was struck, however, the firing stopped,” Huey said.

The group traveling on the rafts jumped out and swam back to Mexico, abandoning the watercrafts and the narcotics inside, officials said. Agents were able to recover nearly 500 pounds of marijuana once the rafts were recovered.

No arrests were made and no suspects are in custody in connection with the shooting, Huey said. None of the agents involved in the incident have faced any disciplinary action, she added.

U.S. federal authorities and the government of Mexico are investigating the incident, officials said. But Julian Flores, of the Tamaulipas State Police, said their office had not received any reports of the incident or injuries. Mexican federal authorities were unavailable for comment Wednesday afternoon.